英国语文第二册 第59期:在雪中穿行

 　　LESSON 59 Through the snow 第五十九课 在雪中穿行

　　"Oh, mother!" said Maggie Brown, “哦，妈妈！”Maggie Brown说

　　"look at pussy¹ making her way through the snow, and putting down her little paws as if she were afraid of sinking over head, shoulders and all!" “看猫雪中穿行，它把它的小爪子放下似乎是害怕它的头，肩甚至全身都陷进雪里。”

　　Mrs. Brown had just come home. She had had a long, weary walk for miles through the snow. 布朗太太刚回到家。她疲倦地走了很长很长的路穿过雪才回到家。

　　She had been heavily laden², and wearily her basket had hung on her arm, with several big parcels in it. 她的手臂上挂着重重的装满包的篮子。

　　Maggie should have run to relieve her mother of that heavy basket, 麦吉本该跑过去帮妈妈减轻重重的篮子的负担，

　　and taken care to have a nice cup of tea ready to warm her after so chilling a walk. 并准备好一杯热茶为经历如此寒冷的妈妈暖身的。

　　She loved her mother dearly, but she was rather a thoughtless girl; 她深爱自己的妈妈，但她又是一个没有什么想法的人。

　　so she did not even help Mrs. Brown to pull off her boots, which were quite wet with melted snow. 因此，她并没有帮布朗太太脱下她的已经被融化的雪浸湿的靴子。

　　"My feet are like ice," said Mrs. Brown; "and no wonder, for my very stockings are wet." “我的双脚冷得跟冰块一样，”布朗太太说，“而且，毫无疑问我的袜子都湿透了。”

　　"Poor little pussy! she has neither stockings nor boots," laughed Maggie; “可怜的小喵咪！她既没有袜子也没有靴子，”麦吉笑着说，

　　"and these velvet³ paws of hers will be half frozen with cold! “它那长着绒毛的爪子冻得都快要结冰了！”

　　"I wonder why she goes struggling on through the snow and the wet, when she might have such a warm place by our fire." “我在想为什么它一定要在潮湿的雪中挣扎呢，什么时候它能像我们一样在有火炉的温暖的地方啊。”

　　"You forget that pussy has kittens in the loft⁴ of the stable," replied Mrs. Brown. “你忘了在马厩的阁楼上那只猫咪有自己的孩子呀。”布朗太太回答道，

　　"She cares more for them than she does for her own comfort.  “她关心自己的孩子比关心自己的舒服更重要。

　　She comes here for a little food; but nothing would tempt⁵ her to remain. 她来这儿是为了找食物而不是有什么使她逗留的。”

　　"When the stable-door was locked last night, the poor cat waited outside in the bitter cold, “昨晚马厩的门被锁上了，那只可怜的猫只能在门外痛苦的寒冷中等着，

　　mewing and whining⁶, till Joe got up and let her in, that she might get to her kittens again." 悲哀地喵喵叫着，一直到Joe起床让她进去，她才可以再次回到小猫们的身边。”

　　"Ah, pussy is a mother!" cried Maggie. “啊，那只喵咪是一个母亲啊！”麦吉喊了一声，

　　"I wonder if those kittens will ever repay her for the trouble which they give her, and the love which she shows them." “我想那些小猫崽们该怎么报偿自己给母亲造成的困难呢，该怎么回报母亲给自己的爱呢。”

　　Mrs. Brown shook her head as she replied, "Pussy is like many a mother, 布朗太太摇摇头回答道“喵咪就像很多母亲一样，一定是自己为孩子付出所有而期望很少回报的，

　　who must look for little return for all that she does for her children, except the comfort of knowing that they never want for anything." 不仅除了我们看到的舒适，而且她们仍不求其他的回报。”

　　Maggie turned quickly round. The gentle words had touched her heart. 麦吉立刻明白了。那些温和的语言触动了她的心。

　　She looked at her tired parent, cold, hungry, and wet; 她看着自己疲惫的母亲、寒冷、饥饿并且浑身湿透了，

　　then on the table, heaped with food for a little girl's eating, and with clothes for a little girl's wear. 而在桌上，装满了给自己吃的食物，装满了给自己穿的衣服。

　　"Oh, mother," cried Maggie, "how thoughtless I have been!" “哦，妈妈，”麦吉喊道，“我是多么的自私啊！”

　　In a minute she was down on her knees rubbing her mother's ice-cold feet, to bring back to them warmth and comfort. 她立刻跪下双膝，揉搓妈妈冰冷的双脚，让它温暖、舒服。

　　Then she ran for dry shoes, and for her own warm little shawl to wrap round her mother. 然后她跑着寻找干的鞋子并把自己温暖的小围巾包裹着妈妈。

　　Then she filled the kettle, and set it upon the fire, put the loaves on the shelf, the tea in the box, and the sugar into the brown jar. 接着她用水壶盛水，放到火炉上，把面包放进架子，把茶放进箱子，把糖放进褐色的罐子里。

　　Maggie never forgot the lesson; and never again had Mrs. Brown cause to think that her daughter could neglect her best earthly friend, 麦吉永远不会忘记这一课，也再不会忽略自己最早好朋友就是布朗太太了，

　　or forget what a deep debt of love is due from a child to a tender mother. 而布朗太太也不会忘记自己从一个孩子成为一个温柔的妈妈肩负着怎样深沉的爱了。

1 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

2 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

3 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

4 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

5 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

6 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。